


Grip

by tveckling



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death, Game: Resident Evil 4, Gen, Hint of Slash, Implied/Referenced Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:14:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23173000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tveckling/pseuds/tveckling
Summary: Leon should've been feeling victorious when he looked up at Krauser, knowing that only there was only one more insignia left, but the whirlwind of emotions inside of him was far from positive.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	Grip

**Author's Note:**

> For Chalkolates whose art continues to give me both life and inspiration. This ficlet is inspired by this piece twitter. com/ chalkolates/status/1238847166279540739?s=19

Leon should've been feeling victorious when he looked up at Krauser, knowing that only there was only one more insignia left, but the whirlwind of emotions inside of him was far from positive. It was hard to look straight at the other man's face, because he kept having flashes of a different time, when he thought he'd gotten a partner who he could trust. But even the thought of that burned now, now that he knew the truth. The bitterness Krauser felt, must have been feeling the whole time, was impossible to deny, and Leon wondered how he could have been to blind as to have missed it.

He stared up at the familiar face. Instead of the myriad of questions he wanted to ask he glared, because this was too important to make personal, no matter how badly he wanted to. Feigning nonchalance was too easy these days, and he carefully kept his voice free of anything but scorn. "Two down, one more to go, Krauser."

Krauser scoffed and glared back down. Leon wondered when he'd gotten those facial scars, and how. If they were something Leon could have prevented if they were still together. If, if, if.

"We'll see about that."

They'd been fighting throughout the whole area, Leon desperately fighting for his life while Krauser determinedly tried to take it, and even with all the conflict inside of him Leon knew better than to let his guard down. The moment Krauser started moving the hand holding his gun Leon moved too, shifting into a mobile position, ready to dodge another array of bullets. But his former partner - and the word tasted bitter, made Leon want to flinch when it so much as crossed his mind - only tossed the firearm aside.

And Leon had had his suspicions since their first meeting, when he saw Krauser jump backwards effortlessly, far higher than any human could possibly be capable. But seeing the arm change, the arm he'd watched get hurt, the arm he knew the doctors had deemed irreparable, he realized he'd still held onto denial, the hope that even despite everything Krauser hadn't gone  _ so _ far. Stupid, naive hope. He should've gotten rid of that a long time ago, and through the pang of disappointment and illogical sense of betrayal was a stronger feeling of anger directed at himself. He should've known better.

"Witness the power!"

There was a maniacal gleam in Krauser's eyes, and the reverent way he looked at the muted blade made Leon's chest twist. The anger he'd felt was wiped away by a wave of gloom, and a sense of mourning for the man Krauser had once been. "You've lost it completely, Krauser."

Whatever spell Krauser had been under broke, and he looked down at Leon with the same somberness showing in his face. During the beat of silence that passed Leon couldn't help but wonder if the same thoughts and questions that plagued him were flashing through Krauser's mind. But if they did the other man ignored them, just as Leon was doing.

"Prepare for your death, Leon."

There was something in his voice, though, that caught Leon's attention. Perhaps it was the calm, or the absence of bitterness. Maybe it was the hint of regret that he couldn't tell was real or imagined.

Whatever it was, however, caught him off-guard, and when Leon realized what was happening Krauser was already in the air, jumping down from his vantage point.  _ Towards Leon _ , his arm poised in an attack.

There was no time to think, no time to do anything than dodge, and it was all Leon could do to throw himself backwards, away from the sharp edge of the blade - only to go too far and fall over another edge, one equally as deadly. At the last moment he managed to reach out and grab hold of the end of a plank, staving off his fall and the death it would mean. Because he knew full well that he was only a human, and even with everything he'd lived through there was no way for him to survive a fall of such a magnitude.

And Krauser knew it too. He could see it as a shadow fell over him and he looked up into his former comrade's face. He was at Krauser's mercy now, hanging over the edge with a single hand. With time he could easily pull himself up into safety again, but the loud, panicked beating in his ears told him he wouldn't have that opportunity.

Krauser stared down at him, no expression of any sort grazing his face. Without a word he moved his boot, pressed it down on top of Leon's hand, slowly pressing harder. For a moment, a panicked, desperate moment, Leon considered begging, trying to talk to the other man, try to get past the insanity and reach the man he had once known. This couldn't be it, his life couldn't end like this. He still had a job to do, he couldn't  _ die _ .

There was something in Krauser's eyes that grabbed Leon's attention, something too hard to decipher, but somehow very familiar.

The sole of Krauser's boot bit into Leon's hand, and he could feel his grip slipping. Through the furious beating he could hear Krauser's low voice. "It's over, Leon. Time to die."

The boot slammed down, and the outcome was decided. As he fell Leon kept his eyes on Krauser, his mind strangely blank. Only one thought remained: there was no way the grief he saw in the other man's face was imagined. 


End file.
